Save Type Surname Usage Japanese Scripts 中曽根(Japanese Kanji) Pronounced Pron. /na.ka.so.ne/ [key·simplify] Meaning & History Combination of the kanji 中 (naka, "middle"), 曽 (so, of uncertain meaning) and 根 (ne, "root"). A famous bearer of this surname was Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone (中曽根 康弘; 1918–2019).